


Shippers United

by Scoby



Series: Reylo experiments [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Dating, During Canon, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Holding Hands, Humor, Meta of sorts, One of My Favorites, Pining, Relationship Advice, Relationship Advice from Darth Vader, Romantic Gestures, The Star Wars Ensemble Ships It, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:35:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24473623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scoby/pseuds/Scoby
Summary: "There is a tradition for children to make hand-crafted clay beads that encapsulate Her spirit. The Aki-Aki believe that when you carry those on yourself, let’s say, in your pocket or on a string around your wrist or neck, your energy is infused with the Goddess. With the person who next touches those beads, you become an OTP.""OTP?""Omino Toisien Pihlar. An exact translation would be very complex to make, but essentially it means lovers who are meant for each other, and the Goddess will not rest before getting them together, wherever in the galaxy they go. So if I may suggest, this is a great opportunity to travel there with somebody whom...""Thank you, 3PO, that was enough information."
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Reylo experiments [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872295
Comments: 20
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to become a serious conversation between Darth Vader and Kylo Ren, where Vader tells Kylo how he lost the one he most loved because of not listening to the call to the light early enough, and urges him to turn and take Rey’s hand while he still has time.
> 
> But it took another turn when I started to imagine that if Darth Vader Himself has that kind of thoughts, who else in the universe would share them. So this became a celebration of all the possible shippers on both the light and the dark sides.

“Be with me. Be with me. Be with me.”

_I am with you._

He startles, gloved hand still on the distorted metal. He has never heard a response from Him before.

“What should I do? I feel so much of it now.”

_Pull to the light? Yes, I have been listening when you’ve spoken about it. But since you weren’t doing anything about it, I figured out you needed some more._

“So was it You who set it up? But Snoke told me...”

_Do you believe everything Snoke said? Of course I set it up. And recently I’ve needed to open it more and more often, and push her to get closer to you, because you’ve seemed so stubborn. But she’s also stubborn about hating you after what you said. Couldn’t you make this easier?_

“But what did I do wrong? I offered her the galaxy? What more could there possibly be?”

_Trust me, that’s not what women want.  
  
_

* * *

  
Rey lets out a victorious scream and shoots her hands up in the air when Chewie’s final holomonster disintegrates.

“I haven’t been beaten with that move in years”, Chewie growls. “Ben used to use it against me as a kid. You see, you have quite a lot in common.”

“I don’t know what you’re pointing to.” Rey turns her head to hide an emerging blush.

“The same thing I’ve been saying before. I miss him. You have the power to bring him back. And you _like_ him.”

“I have no idea where you got that from.”

“Rey, I’m not Force-sensitive, but I can smell pheromones. And your body just sprayed this ship full of them when I mentioned him.”  
  


* * *

  
“BB-9E, I asked for one cup of caf. Why did you bring two?”

_Be-beep beep be-beep._

“You heard that? I’ll erase it from your memory.”

BB-9E rolls out of the room at full speed before he can catch it.  
  


* * *

  
“BB-8, you must never do that again.”

_Be-beep?_

“Never bump into my legs from behind when I’m talking with somebody, even when I’m talking with somebody you cannot see.“

After thinking for a moment, she adds: “ _Especially_ when I’m talking with somebody you cannot see.”

_Beep be-beep beep!_

“No, I don’t want any closer to him. He’s evil, you see. Shouldn’t it be against your programming to try to push me closer to an enemy? I think you have a bug that needs fixing.”

BB-8 rolls out of the room at full speed before she can catch it.  
  


* * *

  
“Sir, are you expecting somebody?”

“In my own quarters, why would I?”

“I was just thinking as you have two cups of caf on your table.”

“It’s... a bug that BB-9E has. It keeps bringing me two cups when I ask for one.”

“Of course, Sir. I just thought that in case you were expecting somebody, I might have suggested you to change your shirt, as this one has a stain on the chest.”

“What do you think about this one?” Kylo Ren pulls out another black shirt from his wardrobe.

“The seam is ripped under the arm, Sir.”

“How about this?”

“That one looks a bit... overly formal. Sir, may I suggest that you... just leave out the shirt?”  
  


* * *

  
“It’s Rey!” Poe celebrates as the sonic wrench stops its spin. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Rey answers.

“Come on!” Poe protests. “You always pick a dare. We can’t come up with any more tasks for you. But we would have plenty of things to ask you.”

“That doesn't make it sound very appealing.”

“Just pick a truth once. We’ll make the first one easy for you.” Rose flutters her lashes and smiles innocently.

“Ok, truth.”

“What’s between you and Kylo Ren?” Rose leans eagerly forward to ask.

“I don’t fully understand but I’ve been studying it from Master Skywalker’s books. It’s something that is often called a Force bond, like a connection that can appear between two Force-sensitive people, causing them to be in contact even though being separated in space. Other examples from history include...”

“We don’t get any of that fancy academic mumbo jumbo”, Finn cuts her. “As your friends, we can see that something beyond that is going on. Don’t think that we haven’t noticed how once in a while you blush and then you hide somewhere alone but we can hear you talking to somebody, and afterwards you're all in your head and we have to repeat three times when saying something to you. So answer the question, what’s between you and Kylo Ren _emotionally_?”

“ _Emotionally_ was not part of the question. I have answered, and I’m certainly not going to pick a truth with you monsters again.”

“Kriff, Rose, you should have let me formulate the question!” Finn buries his forehead into his hands.

“Sorry, my mistake. But see how Rey avoids truths, more persistently than I’ve seen anybody do in this game. We’ll take it as a sign.”  
  


* * *

  
"BB-9E, what are you doing?"

_Be-be-be-beep._

"No, I don’t need a fireplace in my quarters."

_Beep beep be-be-beep._

"That’s not how a Force bond works. She won’t be able to see it."  
  


* * *

  
“R2, it was not fun to push me into the water.”

_Be-be-be-beep be-be-beep._

“Come here then, if you like the fire, and ask me next time if you want me to make one for you.”

_Beep be-be-be-beep beep beep._

“No, just because it happened once doesn’t mean it happens every time I light a fire.”  
  


* * *

  
“Sir, Haysian Mining Corporation is going to open a new shaft. They have expressed that it would be a great honor if the Supreme Leader would be present to cut the ribbon and represent the First Order at the opening banquet. If I may say my opinion, it would be rather important to go, as this corporation is such an essential trading partner for us.”

“Fine, I’ll go. Anything else?”

“The invitation to the banquet is for two.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’ll go alone.”

“Are you sure? We already discussed with the officers that just in case you would want to bring somebody, let’s say, just hypothetically, from the Resistance, we have no problem setting up a ceasefire for a few days and guaranteeing her safety during the event.”

Kylo Ren flies him through the air to himself, throat straight to his choking hand and ear next to his mouth.

“I’ll. Go. Alone.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Help me, Grandfather, I don’t know what to do.”

_With her?_

“I think she still hates me.”

_She might be just faking it, you know. It might be her way of showing affection, or she might be just afraid of your situation, being on the opposite sides of a war and everything._

“Then how do I find out what she really feels?”

_The first thing is to spend some actual time together so that you can tune into her better. I’m quite proud of my Force bond construction, but it still does not fully replace real-life contact in the same space._

“There’s no way I could make it to the Resistance base. And she would never come here if I would ask.”

_Then is there anywhere else in the galaxy where you could take her out?_

“Well, I got an invitation for two to a mining shaft opening.”

_There you have it!  
  
_

* * *

  
“General, may I speak with you?”

“Of course, my dear. What is it?”

“Ben has asked me to go with him to an opening ceremony of a mining shaft.”

Leia’s cheeks pucker as she’s trying to contain an exhilarated scream. She manages without a sound, but the smile conquering her whole face is unmistakable. Aiming for a steady and composed tone, she asks:

“And are you planning to go?”

“I would… like to, but I don’t have anything to wear for that kind of occasion. I wanted to ask if you have anything suitable I could borrow.”

“Had you been around to ask this during the previous war, I would still have been carrying around a travel version of a princess’s wardrobe from base to base. This time I’ve become more reasonable. But let me think. We’re about to get a delivery of supplies from the core worlds in a few days. I could have them pass by our old house on Chandrila and ask them to bring some of my old clothes from there. Do you have time to wait for that?”

“Yes, thank you General.”  
  


* * *

  
She is not used to flying an X-Wing in a dress. In fact, she has never done anything in this long dress before. Rey can count the number of outfits she has worn in her life with her fingers, and this is nothing like any of the others. To climb out of the ship, she needs to gather the hem almost up to her hips, not caring that Kylo Ren is watching her with an entourage of stormtroopers.

“Do you need help”, he tries to ask carefully, but gets a determined answer: “No.”

When she finally makes it down to the ground, she notices that she already has a couple of stains on the white fabric. But among the barren and grey surroundings of Hays Minor, she still looks like a radiant beacon of light, especially when sparse rays of sunlight hit the white drapes on her hips and arms, the silver belt on her waist and the gems around her neck.

Kylo takes a few steps towards her and she is almost sure that she sees one of the stormtroopers push his back before he does it. Only as he comes closer, Rey notices that he is not in his normal clothing either, but the front and hem of his tunic and the edge of his cape are all embroidered with slightly shiny black thread.

“You look… great”, he says, eyes still taking her in. She looks down to hide a smile. Her hands are getting curious about the embroidery on his tunic and how exactly the different forms of the thread would feel on his chest. But this is not the time to find that out.

He turns and offers her his arm. As Rey has no idea about how to respond to the gesture, he uses his other hand to wrap her arm around his. This is more contact than they have ever had, her hand resting on his forearm, arms softly brushing each other’s sides.

At this distance, Rey can smell traces of an earthy-scented detergent in his clothes. She lets herself lean just a little bit closer to breath more of it and under it his sweat, which is an oddly enchanting smell for her. But she pulls slightly back when she realises that her clothing must smell like his mother, and she is not sure how he will react to it.

With this odd arm arrangement they walk all the way up to the new shaft, where audience has already gathered. Rey has never spent this long time surrounded by stormtroopers without them shooting at her. She wonders if this is how it would always be, had she taken Kylo Ren’s hand when he offered it to her.

Would they be travelling around the galaxy with this kind of entourage, fancily dressed up, going from one ribbon-cutting to another? And what kind of office work would they do in between, deciding where to send armies, where to increase taxes and where to invest in social services? What is involved in ruling a galaxy and why does Kylo Ren so desperately want to do it?

During the opening speech by the managing director of Haysian Mining Corporation, they stand in the front row of the audience. After the speech, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is welcomed on the stage to cut open the thick red ribbon suspended in front of the doors to the elevator that will start taking mineworkers down to the new shaft right after this ceremony, when the managers will proceed to the banquet.

He cuts the ribbon in two with his lightsaber and applause follow. A reporter takes dozens of holograms and holovid clips of him standing in front of the new elevator doors, between the two dangling halves of the ribbon.

“Mrs. Ren, please join in the hologram!” the reporter demands. It takes a while for Rey to realize that she is looking and waving her hand at her.

Rey is reluctant to move as she wonders where the hologram is going to end up. Is the whole galaxy going to watch them together and what kind of conclusion are they going to make? She can feel a hand of a stormtrooper on her back, making a gentle but firm push forward. She resists that, but then another hand appears, and one more, until she has to give in and walk up to the elevator doors next to him.

The reporter has only mild success trying to get them to smile. After a few shots, she makes a gesture with her arm sideways, downwards and inwards. Kylo obeys, places his arm over Rey’s shoulders and pulls her slightly closer. After a few more shots in this position, the reporter holds up her hand, thus telling them to wait as she browses through her results. Her face squints, unsatisfied. She looks back at them for a while and scratches her head, until her face lights up in an excited smile.

She turns on the recording and makes a gesture of bringing her hands together in front of her. Kylo obeys this one, too. He pulls Rey straight in front of him and encloses her into an embrace, arms crossing in front of her chest and hands grasping her arms. And this makes them forget that the recording is on and that there is anything else in the world but themselves.

He squeezes his fingers into the beaming white fabric on the draped sleeves that he remembers from his childhood but has never touched from this angle and not over these arms. He lets his hand trace them up and down to feel more of Rey underneath. Rey gives in to leaning back against him and bringing her hands up to meet his arms, wrapping them tighter around her.

They both can feel how the Force Itself is responding to the contact, making a whirpool of vibration and glow around them. And if they would notice anything around them, they would see how the chatter has quieted and nobody in the audience can take their eyes off them. Even without Force-sensitivity, they can feel the ripples of a dyad that has lit up.

Especially the stormtroopers take long, satisfied breaths. Normally, when they see anything like this, it happens in situations where they are firing on civilians and see couples throwing themselves into a final embrace, which they have to finish with a blaster. For once, they are allowed to let their arms hang loose on their sides and just watch. Desperate to absorb more of it straight through his own eyes, not caring about what happens as a result, one of them removes his helmet. Seeing that the Supreme Leader does not care, others quickly follow his example.

The first one to move is the reporter. With a blissful look on her face, she turns off the holorecorder and comes closer to them to ask questions. Kylo lets go of Rey, takes a deep breath and gathers himself to respond in a steady voice:

“The First Order is very pleased with this achievement of Haysian Mining Corporation and we look forward to strengthening our collaboration in the future.”

“And how about you Mrs. Ren? How do you see the significance of this new shaft for the prosperity of the galaxy?”

“Actually, my name is just Rey. I’m not his…” Rey looks up to Kylo for support.

“That’s right. We’re not together. She’s just… with me in this event.”

The reporter eyes at them with deep suspicion, but finally corrects something in her notes.

“Fair enough. So what do you think then, _Rey_?”

Rey mumbles something that can be interpreted as a response and they proceed indoors to the banquet. She is thankful as Kylo continues introducing her to people just as Rey. Every time he does it, she gives his forearm a slight brush with her thumb to signal that she appreciates it. 

After a long time of circling among the mine managers whose names Rey forgets as soon as they are mentioned, she finds herself more curious about the stormtroopers who are now scattered among the crowd, still without helmets. When she asks for it, Kylo introduces her to them, too. Their names are of course even more difficult to remember, as they are only combinations of numbers and letters, but she smiles at each of them and gives them time to remove their plastoid gloves so that she can shake their hands with both of her own.

A dinner follows with so many courses that Rey loses count. Every other one of them she has trouble eating without looking around for other people’s example. A new speech is given between every course.

When the dinner is over, an orchestra starts to play and Rey suddenly feels like everyone is looking at her. Thinking that she must have food left on her face, she looks at Kylo and raises an eyebrow, thus asking him to indicate where. But he shakes his head and smiles faintly.

“They are just waiting for us”, he says and offers her his hand.

Seeing no other choice, Rey takes it, but keeps bombarding him with a panicked stream of whispers all the way as he walks her over the floor:

“What are we going to do? I seriously cannot dance a step. I have a bad fee…”

“Relax, Rey, just follow”, he steadies her. “We’ll be fine.”

Still holding her hand, he strokes his other hand few times up and down the curve of her back, looking for a good spot. After finding one, he starts to gently sway her around the floor. Her movements are first twitchy and awkward. Just following him has been the furthest thing from her interest when she has been focused on fighting him.

But little by little, she melts into his touch and the music. It helps that the floor starts filling up with couples and all eyes are not fixated on them anymore. When the song ends and the next one starts, her first thought is:

“Can you do that again?”

That makes Kylo Ren smile more than she has ever seen him do.

When the banquet is over, he walks her back to her X-Wing. There is nobody watching them anymore, besides the group of stormtroopers, but neither of them feels like letting go of the other’s hand anymore. The contact is spinning the Force into a bubbling and humming swirl around them, which makes it easy to laugh and be filled with warmth and joy. When they reach Rey’s ship, he asks:

“Are you sure you don’t need help getting into that thing?”

“Well, for example, you could all turn to look away this time”, she suggests.

He nods, turns his back and signals his entourage to do the same. Relieved, Rey gathers up the white hem, containing a few more stains now, and tucks it through the neckline of the dress between her breasts, so that she can use her both hands and legs to climb up to the ship as she prefers. Kylo listens to her taking off before boarding his own shuttle. He lets the stormtroopers keep their helmets off until they drop out of lightspeed in sight of their star destroyer.


	3. Chapter 3

“So how was Hays Minor?” Rose helps Rey lift up Falcon’s floor panel so that they can access the oil tank under it.

“Just like you described it. Ugly, nothing but mines as far as the eye can see. I don’t even know how they could fit a new shaft anywhere. The whole planet seems to be so full of holes.”

“How about the event?”

“Nothing much to say about that. A lot of speeches. Quite tasty but very confusing dinner.”

“And how about _him_?”

Rey bends down to examine the opening of the oil tank but too late to cover an excited smile.

“Oh-wow-wow, I can see that something happened. Tell me tell me tell me, it’s only me, I don’t tell anyone else if you don’t want.”

“Nothing much, Rose. Just…”

“Just..?”

“Just, maybe, we somewhat… danced.”

Rose’s lips curve into a victorious smile and her eyebrows rise, hungry for more details.

“And it felt so _goooood_.” As Rey lets the words out of her mouth, she has to laugh and shake. It’s like the whole experience comes back to her. “Just being so close to him and his smell and warmth, and moving like we would belong to each other if just forgetting these kriffing circumstances. Stars, why does he have to be so freaking obsessed with the dark side?”

The cap of the oil tank falls from Rey’s hand and her head collapses against Rose’s shoulder, wetting her shirt with tears. Rose wraps her arms around Rey and gently sways her.

“My dear Rey. Remember, we don’t win by fighting what we hate but by saving what we love. Sooner or later he’ll turn for you. You’ll see.”

Rey lifts her head and meets Rose’s gaze with red and swollen eyes. When they are both ready to smile again, Rose continues, grabbing Rey’s shoulders to shake them:

“Next time, sister, you have to go for something more fun. Listening to speeches by mine managers is not a proper date.”

“We’re not dating, Rose.”

“But you could if you just were in the right place, and I happen to know an excellent suggestion! On the Outer Rim, there’s a planet called Aralia, in the Andron system, and there is the most thrilling amusement park you could ever imagine.”

“What’s an amusement park?”

“So you haven’t even imagined one? Then especially you’ll love it, and he will, too. It has all sorts of crazy rides. It’s like flying fast in a maze, but you don’t have to do anything, just enjoy. We went once with Paige.”

She slightly lowers her gaze and her oily hand passes by her neck to touch something under her shirt. But quickly her face lights up again.

“I’m so happy she made it there before the end. It was among the happiest of our days together. We'd been saving credits for a long time. And then, when the General managed to negotiate a week-long ceasefire, so that everyone could go visit home, we knew that it was our chance. As we didn’t have a family anymore, we went to Aralia instead, and that was excellent.”

“But if you had to save for a long time, how am I supposed to get tickets for us? I don’t own a single credit.”

“I’m sure he has. Just tell him where to arrive and what to bring. You’ll have so much fun!”  
  


* * *

  
“Rey, I didn’t say it properly yet, but thank you so much for coming with me to Hays Minor. It was so much better with you than that kind of events usually are.”

“In that case, they must usually be absolutely dreadful. I don’t know how people can stand so many speeches on a regular basis.”

“That’s why there’s the dinner.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be much better to eat just one satisfactorily large portion and go home happy?”

He starts losing his hope that this time the Force connection with Rey would become different. On Hays Minor, he certainly felt something shift between them. Why is Rey now back to this tone, like looking for their usual argument?

Is it possible, like his Grandfather says, that this is her way to show affection, or that she is just afraid? Or was it a mistake to listen to Him and take Rey to Hays in the first place? Then again, He used to be a nobody from a desert planet who got Himself the Queen of Naboo. So His advice should be among the best in the galaxy. Why is it not working?

But Rey has not finished yet.

“Next time, we’ll have to go somewhere more fun.”

Her comment makes his heart jump. Did she really say ‘next time’? Before he has time to analyse it further, she proceeds to giving him coordinates.  
  


* * *

  
Rey waits at the parking lot of the amusement park and hopes that Kylo does as she asked and will not make a scene of his entrance. She has dreamt about spending a day with him feeling like they were just ordinary people enjoying the amusement park.

When he arrives, she can see that he is definitely doing his best. He lands in a TIE fighter – the only one in the parking lot but still a regular one, not his own intimidating one and especially not his towering shuttle. And when he climbs out, she sees that he has changed his complex multi-layer clothing into a simple combination of a black sweater and pants.

But it’s a scene nonetheless, because he looks stunning like this. Rey has to hold on to the parking lot fence for a moment to steady her breathing before walking up to him. Or maybe she runs. Cannot her legs move any slower?

With the slowest steps she manages, she reaches him and dives straight into a hug. Her head only reaches the lower end of his chest, but that’s an excellent place to lean on, face a bit towards the side, nose towards the smell that she has already been missing after Hays.

For a brief, awkward moment she has to wait before she feels his arms enclosing around her, first slightly shaking, then relaxing into holding her. The symphony of joy and warmth, which they remember form just holding hands, hits them with a multiplied power now. Both wonder if the whole amusement park can be any better than this. But since they are here, they eventually let go of the hug and walk to the entrance hand in hand.

The tickets cost more credits that Rey has ever seen at once, but Kylo has that amount in his pocket, just like she has asked. Once they are inside, a paradise opens. Rose’s description has not prepared Rey for this amount of variety. It is like there is a ride for every possible way of moving in space.

Rey’s favourites become those where they fly through fountains of water and mist. Growing up saving every drop, she has not imagined that somewhere water could be so abundant that it can be splashed around, just for the fun of feeling it playing on her skin and clothes.

Kylo’s favourites are the ones with the highest falls, preferably combined with spins. The physical feeling of spinning in a free fall merges in a blissful way with the swirls in the Force generated by Rey’s closeness. Towards the end of the day, he feels drunk on life force.

When the closing time approaches, they choose their final ride to be a rollercoaster ending in a spinning free fall almost from the clouds down to a giant fountain. Many others have chosen the same, so they have to queue for a long time.

Rey leans to the fence lining the queue area, looking up to the heights where they are about to head to. Kylo's eyes keep returning back to her. Holding his breath, he traces a hand along her spine, just like he has done before. As it makes Rey smile and close her eyes, he lets his hand snake further around her hip and stay there. He hinges slightly closer so that he can take in her scent while using his free hand to play with her hair. Everything about her seems like a miracle.

When they are finally in the cart, buckled up and flying through the track, the ride unexpectedly stops. They are stuck at the highest point, about to begin the final fall. From far below, they hear somebody screaming into a megaphone that the breaks are stuck closed but they are working on them and hope to continue the ride as soon as possible.

Since they both love the height and welcome any opportunity to stay longer in the park, they sit back and focus on watching the sunset in the horizon. When the sun is gone and only a light purple glow left, Kylo turns to watch Rey again, placing a hand on the inside of her elbow.

Her skin devours the touch and sends a shiver through her. When turning to look back at him, her gaze wanders to his lips and makes her wonder how he tastes like, inside his mouth. She leans her head a bit forward, just to test if he responds, and he does the same, until their noses meet and start to move past each other.

At that moment, the breaks click back open and their heads get jerked back as the cart accelerates to the final fall. They barely have time to notice the spinning and falling before they are soaking wet in the middle of a splashing fountain.

As soon as they are out of the cart, the staff hurries them outside because the park has officially closed while they were stuck at the top of the rollercoaster. At the parking lot, there are other staff members hurrying them to leave so that they can start cleaning. So they wave at each other for a quick farewell and take off, each to their own direction.


	4. Chapter 4

“General, you had something you wanted to show me.”

“Yes, background data for your mission. I should have somewhere here maps and climate data of Pasaana. But where did I put them... Could it be this one?”

She clicks the datastick into the holopad and turns it on.

“Oh, how did these get here? I’ve been cherishing these old pictures of Ben ever since he left to study with Luke. Awww, how he used to love playing with the toy ships, and swimming in the lake, and doing calligraphy. See, this we recorded on the day when Han let him fly the Falcon for the first time.”

In a short holovid clip, little Ben Solo half runs, half jumps up the boarding ramp of the Millennium Falcon, a cloud of messy black hair following his every move. He screams out of excitement at the top of his lungs, while Han walks after him laughing.

Rey cannot hold back a heart-filled smile but says: “I think I know what you’re getting at, what you want me to do, what I wanted to do myself, too, but I don’t know anymore if I have the power to do it.”

“Why wouldn’t you? You two are all over the Force.”

“Haven’t you sensed how he’s been sinking deeper into the dark these past days? I think it’s related to Palpatine’s return. Me and Ben were a nice dream but nothing more.”

Leia has clicked through the whole content of the datastick and arrived at the last item. It is a holovid that she has downloaded from a galactic broadcast sent out by Haysian Mining Corporation. On top of the holopad, a small figure of her grown up son is embracing an even smaller one of Rey in front of the doors of a mining shaft elevator. Apart from his embroidered clothing, he looks nothing like a Supreme Leader, just an ordinary man who is the happiest he has ever been, holding a treasure he cherishes. And she looks like ready to stay in those arms forever.

Leia looks at it, lost in a smile that seems to encompass her whole being and cancel all the ageing effects that leading the Resistance has caused on her. Rey bites back a set of tears and clenches her hands into fists.

"The only hope we have is that I destroy Palpatine."  
  


* * *

  
“3PO, the General couldn’t find any data about Pasaana for me. Is there anything in your memory that could help with my mission?”

“It is my great pleasure to help you, Master Rey. Pasaana is a desert planet in the Middian system, average day-time temperatures between 50-60 degrees at the equator, average relative humidity 20%. The probability of you encountering a sandstorm while there is one out of 52,72. Pasaana is sparsely populated by Aki-Aki who have developed diverse cultures and rich traditions, some of which are shared across the planet. Would you like to hear an example?"

Rey nods.

"Most Aki-Aki believe in a Goddess of Love who lives in the earth and everything made of it. In Her honour, there is a tradition for children to make hand-crafted clay beads that encapsulate Her spirit. The Aki-Aki believe that when you carry those on yourself, let’s say, in your pocket or on a string around your wrist or neck, your energy is infused with the Goddess. With the person who next touches those beads, you become an OTP.”

“OTP?”

“Omino Toisien Pihlar. An exact translation would be very complex to make, but essentially it means lovers who are meant for each other, and the Goddess will not rest before getting them together, wherever in the galaxy they go. So if I may suggest, this is a great opportunity to travel there with somebody whom...”

“Thank you, 3PO, that was enough information.”

“Excuse me, Master Rey, but if I may be so bold to ask, do you have somebody you would like to take with you and, perhaps, become an OTP with? I don’t mean to intrude, but my programming forces me to ask this because the mission might be dangerous and it would be most advisable to go with somebody.”

“I’m going alone.”

“Isn’t there anybody in the whole Resistance you would...”

“No!”

“How about then, perhaps... outside the Resistance?”  
  


* * *

  
“Prepare a ship for me. Not my own but a regular TIE.”

“Emmm, we have a bit of a problem with the TIEs right now, Sir. I-is it u-urgent?”

“Yes! The scavenger is on her way to Kef Bir, looking for a wayfinder to Exegol. I need to stop her and take her to Exegol myself. We’ll take down the Emperor together and the Last Order fleet will be ours. If I waste one minute, she might make it there before me and destroy everything.”

“I-in that ca-case, Sir, I’m afraid we’ll have to prepare y-your o-own sh-sh-ship.”

Kylo Ren chokes him through the Force briefly.  
“Which part of what I said did you not understand? I need a TIE with _two seats_ , to take the scavenger to Exegol, _right now_.”

“Sir, u-unfortunately we are just running a m-maintenance operation on a-all the regular TIEs. The o-only a-available ship is your own. I-if you a-ask me, I think it has enough space.”  
  


* * *

  
Rey picks the largest pieces of seaweed off the wings and the nose cone. She hopes this thing will still fly. She already stretches her hands up to grasp the still wet handle on the side next to the cockpit, about to start climbing up, when she hesitates and looks back one more time.

“Master, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”

He nods his shimmering translucent head and she continues:

“I’ve been thinking about what I want to do after I destroy Palpatine. I really think I would like to start a Jedi Academy, but I don’t think I want to go all the way with the traditional non-attachment rule. Do you think that I could be a Jedi Master and still, you know, live with somebody, maybe have a family? And how could I make it work?”

“Er… Hmmm… I think you need another teacher for that.”  
  


* * *

  
Through a silent black emptiness, Rey feels a strand of life again. It seems to enter through her belly and slowly spread its way around her body. When it reaches her lungs, she is able to draw a breath again. And when it reaches her arm, she can move it to where she feels the life entering her.

And right there, she feels a hand in a familiar shape. When vision returns to her eyes, her heart bursts with happiness as she sees him, finally himself and free. She, Leia, Ben himself, everyone has succeeded in bringing him back from beyond so much lost hope.

As her consciousness grows, also the presence of the Jedi from the past comes back. She sends them a quiet wave of gratitude. Without them, she would have never had the strength to defeat Palpatine, not even close. But it sounds like they have not finished. Rather, their voices start to pick up volume again.

_Rey, we are still with you._

_We are right here with you._

_Do it!_

_Do it, Rey!_

_Do it now!_

_Go for it!_

_He just brought you back from death. He won’t stay alive for long._

_Hurry, Rey!_

_Your last chance this is, to find out how tastes he._

She feels invisible hands starting to crawl towards her back. Before they have time to reach her and push, she goes for it, closes the gap between herself and Ben Solo and kisses him.

The invisible hands withdraw into applause.


End file.
